Bring Kanban coaching Masterclass to Austin

[Satish Kumar]

David J Anderson and Associates provides the Kanban Coaching Masterclass in various locations around the world based on requests for the class from those regions. I would like to bring the Kanban Coaching Masterclass (http://www.djaa.com/kanban-coaching-professional-masterclass-curriculum) to Austin, Texas or surrounding areas (San Antonio, Houston, or Dallas are also acceptable) in the month of April or later in the year. The requirement is to have a committed group of at least 5 individuals in a region for the class to be taught in that region. Janice Linden-Reed, the CEO of Lean Kanban, suggested that I try to form such a group so we can have the class taught in Austin. 

Here is an example of such a class in Washington, DC so you may familiarize yourself with the format of the class, the costs involved, etc. - http://www.djaa.com/kcpm-031. The Kanban Coaching Masterclass is a requirement to achieve the Kanban Coaching Professional designation from the Lean Kanban University.

I wanted to gauge the interest for such a class from the Austin Kanban community. If you or anybody you know would be interested in attending the Kanban Coaching Masterclass in the Austin area, I would appreciate your response to this post. 

Kind Regards,

Satish

[Colin Turner]

Satish,

I'm interested.

-Colin

[Matt Roberts]

We could also put the full force of the entire Agile Austin community to this.  We've hosted David Anderson and have been a great marketing engine for him. I'd recommend that someone reach out to the Agile Austin Board (bo...@agileaustin.org) to enlist their help.  I'll be happy to be a liaison if you guys have challenges with this.

All the best,

Matt 

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[mark.s...@agileaustin.org]

I was just informed there's some interest in a Kanban Masterclass in Austin.  I happen to be in the same class in San Diego through tomorrow.  Does anyone want me to tee up the discussion while I'm here?

Please let me know.

-Mark

On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 6:31:42 AM UTC-6, Satish Kumar wrote:

[Satish Kumar]

Hello Mark,

I appreciate your offer to tee up the discussion. We now have a total of 3 people including me that are interested. If we find 2 more, then I believe we will have the quorum necessary to have the class. Therefore, I don't see any downside to tee up the discussion while you are there. 

Thoughts?

Satish

Satish Kumar

p: (304)-534-9272 | a: Austin, TX

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[Satish Kumar]

@Matt,

I appreciate your advice and offer of help. I will reach out to them. I will let you know if I run into challenges.

@The interested parties

I received the following response to the email I sent to sa...@djaa.com, 

Hello Satish,
Thanks for your email.
We're actually already considering a class in Austin in late March or early April. I'd like your input on which dates work best for  you and your group. Also how many attendees do you think would be part of your group? We offer a 15% discount to groups of 5 or more.
Best,
Wes


Wes Harris
Commercial Director - David J. Anderson & Associates - www.DJAA.com
Editor-in-Chief - Blue Hole Press - www.BlueHolePress.com
415-378-3587 - skype: wes-harris

I wonder if we form a group of 5 as members of the agile austin community, we may be able to get the 15% discount, which is $750. 

The course spans an entire work week. I would prefer a date in April. Therefore, please let me know what dates are convenient for you.

Kind Regards,

Satish

[Satish Kumar]

More details from djaa.

Hi Satish,
April is looking more likely than late March at this point, so that's good news. 
The group can be made up of anyone, of course we recommend everyone meets the basic prerequisites. We don't require that everyone be part of the same company.
So you know, the process is that you would assemble the group, then pass everyone's email and names to me. I'll send everyone a coupon code redeemable for the group discount. This allows everyone to pay individually. We'll also reserve hotel rooms as part of our room block, and attendees would change the room to their own card at check-in. 
Also, we provide lunches during the session. So we'll eventually need to gather room requests and any dietary needs from everyone.
Let me know if I can help in any way as you look at dates and reach out to potential attendees.

Thanks!

[Satish Kumar]

Status update.

Completed:

• Based on Matt's suggestion, sent email to the board at Agile Austin to enlist their help in this effort.

Pending:

• At least 2 more positive responses of interest to make up a quorum of 5 participants to ensure the class in Austin.
  
• Consensus on a date in April for the class.
• Confirmation from Wes at djaa that the class will happen in Austin, possibly due to another group that is intending to get together.

Satish

Satish Kumar

p: (304)-534-9272 | a: Austin, TX

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[Satish Kumar]

I received a question regarding the cost of the course and a clarification on the discount.

The actual cost of the course, based on the information at the upcoming course in Washington DC, is $5000. I expect that cost to be the same. Based on the information I received from Wes at sa...@djaa.com, we would get a discount of 15% for groups of 5 or more. 

Let me know if you need further clarification.

On Friday, 23 January 2015 05:34:43 UTC-6, Satish Kumar wrote:

Status update.

Completed:

• Based on Matt's suggestion, sent email to the board at Agile Austin to enlist their help in this effort.

Pending:

• At least 2 more positive responses of interest to make up a quorum of 5 participants to ensure the class in Austin.
  
• Consensus on a date in April for the class.
• Confirmation from Wes at djaa that the class will happen in Austin, possibly due to another group that is intending to get together.

Satish

Satish Kumar

p: (304)-534-9272 | a: Austin, TX

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[Mark Koester]

Hi Satish,

I would be interested, but it would be contingent on talking my company into picking up the bill. I'll start to explore the possibility of this.

Thanks,

Mark

On Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 6:31:42 AM UTC-6, Satish Kumar wrote:

[Satish Kumar]

Hello Matt,

I have not received any response to the email I sent to bo...@agileaustin.org. I would like to enlist your help in that communication. Please let me know how I can assist you.

Kind Regards,

Satish

On Thursday, 22 January 2015 11:09:17 UTC-6, Matt Roberts wrote:

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[Satish Kumar]

In the interest of keeping this conversation alive, I wanted to refresh everyone's memory on current status.

Current Status

• Four people including myself have expressed interest. 
  

Pending

• Interest from a 5th person to establish the quorum necessary to confirm the class in Austin.
• One out of the four has to check with company about picking up the bill.
• Response from Agile Austin Board to the email that I sent them.
• Response from Matt to my request for help with the communication with the Agile Austin Board.
• Response to question about dates that people would like to have the class, preferable in April based on the response from sa...@djaa.com.

Thanks,

Satish

[Matt Roberts]

Hi Satish:

Mark Spitzer is on the board, he replied to this thread previously, so I assume he's aware. 

I think that the board might:

- Help you get the word out to the community in Austin. They'd probably inform you about the communication channels available via www.agileaustin.org/join and encourage you to post to the mailing lists, LinkedIn, and Facebook

- Advise you (and possibly network you) with other AgileAustin SIGs. The Leader's SIG and the Coaching SIG would be good bets

- Encourage you to network with other similar groups in Austin. Lean Software Austin seems to be defunct, but there are other Lean groups in town that might be good adjacent folks. 

- They might reach out to DJA directly and inquire what it would take to get a visit, and offer a Distinguished Speaker slot, as has been done before, resulting in an audience in the hundreds

- As many of them are leaders and have great networks, they may reach out to other organizations in town to drum up support

They might do something altogether different and better too :)

I'll forward this to them, hopefully we'll get a favorable reply!

Matt

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[Mark Spitzer]

I am aware.  We have a monthly meeting next Tuesday night and I plan to announce at the meeting.  The meeting is sold out so there will be a lot of people there.  You don't need many to make the class.

I can send a note out to the SIG Program Leads as well.  All of Matt's other ideas are good ones regarding you posting to LinkedIn and mailing lists.

I think we may be able to get a couple of folks from BazaarVoice.  Let me check with them.

Getting a couple more people and aligning the timing with David Anderson's schedule will be the most critical next steps.  He and Janice already know you're interested in having a class here around late March or early April.  Continue to keep that channel open regarding scheduling and we can solicit people over the next week or two.

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[Mark Spitzer]

I just sent a note to the Program Leads asking them to announce at their next SIG meeting.  I will coordinate with Yasser on the announcement Tuesday night.  I also sent a note to my contact at BazaarVoice.

[Satish Kumar]

I appreciate your help with this. I will follow Matt's suggestions on the other fronts.

Satish Kumar

p: (304)-534-9272 | a: Austin, TX

[Satish Kumar]

Completed

• Matt Roberts responded to my request for help.
• Mark Spitzer from the Agile Austin board broadcast this effort to the ProgramLeads in Agile Austin, the immediate result of which was the additional interested person. 
• Satish Kumar posted information about this effort to the Agile Austin Facebook page and the Yahoo! group.
• Satish Kumar requested to Join the Agile Austin LinkedIn page so he can post to that group. 

In Progress

• Four people including myself have expressed interest. (one person joined the interested parties group and one person left the group.

Pending

• Interest from a 5th person to establish the quorum necessary to confirm the class in Austin.

• One out of the four interested parties has to check with employer about picking up the bill.

• Response to question about dates that people would like to have the class, preferable in April based on the response from sa...@djaa.com.

• Response to Satish Kumar's request to Join the Agile Austin LinkedIn group.
• Response from Wes at sa...@djaa.com about the status of the Masterclass in Austin.

[Matt Roberts]

Other ideas:

- Connect with the Houston Agile Leadership Network group (http://alnhouston.org/)

- Connect with the San Antonio Agile Group (http://alamoagile.com/)

- Connect with the Dallas Agile Leadership Network Group (http://www.meetup.com/Dallas-ALN/)

Out of the box ideas--connect with the local and regional PMI chapters.  They have strong attendance, and many folks with PMI certs are looking for ways to earn PDU/Proof of Attendance and are willing to spend on them.  Kanban certainly falls (in a way) into the PMBOK.

Out of the box idea #2 - see if four confirmed folks will sponsor a 5th virtual seat (sharing the cost, or donating it to someone)

I'll keep 'em coming as they occur :)

Matt

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[Jay Paulson]

Just to follow up on this.  I've taken the class and it's really awesome.

I would also highly recommend taking these other two classes before taking the coaching class (you don't have to but it's highly recommended that you do)

2-day Foundation Level kanban training class 
3-day Advanced Practitioner Level class

[Satish Kumar]

I received the following question - When we would know for sure, and the days, whether or not the class will be offered in Austin ?  

When I had originally posed that question to Wes at sa...@djaa.com, he wanted to find out from our group what would be the best timeframe to have this class. Currently, it appears as though the class will happen in early April. I have requested a status update from Wes but have not heard back from him yet. 

In order to advice Wes on the timeframe, it would be beneficial if the group of us that are currently interested could decide on a date that would work best. I would really appreciate it if the interested parties would respond to this message with the dates that would work for them. The question to answer is.

What dates for the Kanban Coaching Masterclass would work best for you?

[Satish Kumar]

UPDATE: Email from Wes at DJAA sales:

Hi Satish,
Thanks for your patience while we finalize the dates. Coordinating that is the only hurdle - we have a lot of interest and the class is definitely happening. I'll email you the details when we lock it down, should be by the end of the week.
Thanks,
Wes

[Chris Durand]

Hi Satish,

  I'm also interested in attending.

Thanks!
Chris Durand

[Satish Kumar]

Hi Chris,

Appreciate your interest.

I now have 5 interested parties including myself. Wes at DJAA said that we should know the dates by the end of the week.

ACTION ITEM: If everyone who had expressed interest earlier would confirm continued interest then we could move to the next stage of the process. 

Will post an update when I hear from Wes.

Satish

Satish Kumar

p: (304)-534-9272 | a: Austin, TX

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[Satish Kumar]

Great news. DJAA has confirmed the dates for the Kanban Coaching Masterclass in Austin, TX. See http://www.djaa.com/kcpm-032 for details. The dates listed on that site are March 23 - March 27.

To avail of the discount for a group of 5 or more, I need to collect the names and email addresses of the interested parties and send it to Wes at DJAA. He will then generate a discount code for the group and we can then register with that discount code. So here is the status update. 

Completed:

• Confirmed Kanban Coaching Masterclass in Austin, TX - http://www.djaa.com/kcpm-032
• One person withdrew their interest yesterday. So we are now at 4 interested parties. 
• Access to LinkedIn Agile Austin group granted.

Pending:

Interest from a 5th person to establish the quorum necessary to confirm the class in Austin.

Post to Agile Austin LinkedIn group.

Satish

[Mark Spitzer]

You beat me to it!  I was just about to post this information.  Congratulations!  It's a great class.

[Anthony Oden, CSP]

Howdy,

I'm interested in joining the quorum, but I'd like to know the confirmed cost before the discount.

Thanks!

Anthony.

[Satish Kumar]

Hi Anthony,

The page at http://www.djaa.com/kcpm-032 lists the cost before discount, which according to that page is $5000. I sincerely hope you can join the quorum because you will make it 5. The page states that the workshop can only 12 people. Therefore, will you be able to determine a go, no-go fairly soon so we can take action to sign up as a group as soon as possible?

Thanks,

Satish

[Satish Kumar]

Hello Group,

With the class confirmed in Austin, we will have move fairly quickly to confirm attendance in the class because the class can have a maximum of 12 attendees, according to http://www.djaa.com/kcpm-032. At this stage, we need the group of 5 to avail of the discount. I would like to get a confirmed number of interested parties. Now that the dates are confirmed, I would appreciate it if everyone that expressed interest would confirm their continued interest and also indicate a level of confidence on attending the class so I can take the appropriate next steps. 

I will start:

I confirm my interest in the class and I have very high confidence that I will attend.

Kind Regards,

Satish

[Chris Durand]

I'm in also.  I have very high confidence that I will attend.  I'm cleared with my company for the dates and $ are approved.  Thanks, Chris Durand

[Anthony Oden, CSP]

Thank you for the details. After reviewing the description and reviewing the budget, I'm not able to join. 

It's a shame because I believe this is well worth the investment.

Kind Regards,

Anthony

[Satish Kumar]

Status Update:

Completed:

• Chris Durand and Satish Kumar expressed high confidence that they will attend the Masterclass.
• Posted information about the class to the PMI Credentials LinkedIn Group. Thanks to my wife, who is a PMP, for her help with this.

Pending:

• 2 other interested parties that are yet to provide their level of confidence.
• Need at least one other person to express interest to get to a total of 5 to avail of the 15% discount.

Satish

[Satish Kumar]

Wes Harris from sa...@djaa.com has now provided the following coupon code to avail of the 15% discount for the Masterclass in Austin to "help things move along". He requested that I share this with the group of 4 interested parties and my network. 

Below is the information.

http://www.djaa.com/kcpm-032

Code: AUSTINTX15

Good for 15% off the regular price

To use this coupon code, 

1. Navigate to the link above.
2. Look for the Buy Now button on the page.
3. Enter the Code in the Coupon Code box on the checkout page.
4. Click Update and see the price change to $4250.
5. The rest of the steps are a checkout process as usual.

I tested the code and I was able to register for the course with the 15% discount. 

I still want to continue the search for the 5 people just to ensure the course will happen in Austin. Please post to this group if you signup for the course so we can keep a count of the number of registrants.

Status Update:

Completed:

• Obtain coupon code for the 15% discount to the class in Austin, TX.

Pending:

• 5 confirmed registrants to the class.

[Chris Durand]

Thanks Satish.  I just registered and paid without issues at the discounted price.  Looking forward to the class!  Thanks for driving this forward.  Regards, Chris

[Satish Kumar]

I received the following email from Wes Harris at DJAA. 

One more thing to mention: We have enough attendees to definitely hold the class. The venue has been signed and everything is 100% confirmed with the Omni Barton Creek: http://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/austin-barton-creek

Based on the that email, the purpose of this group has been achieved. I appreciate all the input and the participation. I hope to see many of you at the course. Here is the coupon code once again so it is visible to anybody interested in registering for the course.

http://www.djaa.com/kcpm-032

Code: AUSTINTX15

Good for 15% off the regular price

To use this coupon code, 

1. Navigate to the link above.
2. Look for the Buy Now button on the page.
3. Enter the Code in the Coupon Code box on the checkout page.
4. Click Update and see the price change to $4250.
5. The rest of the steps are a checkout process as usual.

Kind Regards,

Satish